Submit to Horticulturae Review for Horticulturae Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Biotic and Abiotic Stress".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 14728

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yan Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: horticultural plant disease; fruit virus; grapevine breeding; molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Major horticultural crops produced in the world are vegetables and fruits. The production of vegetables and fruits is increasing with population growth. Although their production is less than that of major cereals, vegetables and fruits are necessary for the maintenance of body functions. Therefore, horticultural production is important for promoting a healthy life and for preventing hidden hunger.

Stress biology of horticultural plants includes abiotic and biotic stresses in horticulture plants. Stress tolerance mechanisms in horticultural crops are gaining attention because most agricultural regions are predicted to experience considerably more extreme environmental fluctuations. Furthermore, because of recent progress in technologies, the emergent postgenomic era has enabled advances in horticultural crops, which comprise a great diversity of species. In this postgenomic era, translational and transcriptional research on model plants has provided a large amount of valuable information on many horticultural species. The abiotic and biotic stress response in horticultural plants deals with the effects of these stresses on horticultural plants and production, updated information on genetic engineering, and omics as a biotechnological aspect. Many readers who are interested in plant abiotic and biotic stress biology are aware of the latest findings in agricultural production.

The proposed Special Issue on "Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants" aims to present the results of recent research studies, methods, technologies, and innovative practices that are or could be applied in this field. We look forward to receiving your manuscripts and sharing your achievements in the field of horticultural plants.

Prof. Dr. Yan Xu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

abiotics
biotics
environmental fluctuations
stress production
genetic engineering
horticultural plants

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 6313 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptome Analysis of Berries of Spine Grape (Vitis davidii Föex) Infected by Colletotrichum viniferum during Symptom Development

by Yan Lei, Xiaojian Yuan, Ting Chen, Yuan Yuan, Xinming Liu, Xinbiao Tang and Qingxi Chen

Horticulturae 2022, 8(9), 843; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8090843 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1621

Abstract

Grape ripe rot (Colletotrichum viniferum) causes huge losses in grape production in vineyards in southern China. However, the molecular mechanism against ripe rot in grape species and the responsive genes implicated in these processes are relatively unknown. Here, we present the transcriptome analysis of berries from a C. viniferum-resistant species (Vitis davidii Föex). Uninfected berries at day zero were used as control samples (CK), an inoculation was made at day zero, and the berries were subsequently analyzed at 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days post inoculation (dpi), which exhibited a sequential disease-progression stage. There were a total of 1810 differentially expressed genes, including 1315 up-regulated and 495 down-regulated transcripts. At 7 dpi, these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were predominantly enriched in berries. In addition, in C. viniferum-infected grape fruits at 7 dpi, considerable changes in gene expression were induced, and those up-regulated genes involved in MAPK cascade, calcium ion binding, and serine/threonine kinase activity were enriched. According to our KEGG pathway analysis, numerous enriched biological processes, such as plant–pathogen interaction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and metabolism, were implicated in grape–fungus interactions. Our research also revealed alterations in the expression pattern of phenylalanine-pathway-related transcription factors (TFs) and genes. We proposed a model in which C. viniferum invasion produces intracellular and extracellular Ca²⁺ deregulation to stimulate the MAPK pathway to activate TFs’ (WRKY, ERF, and MYB) up-regulation, thus initiating disease-resistant responses in the tolerant Vitis species. Our results offer comprehensive transcriptomic data about molecular responses in C. viniferum-infected grape, and these data will aid in understanding of processes underlying plant responses to C. viniferum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 3473 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Identification of the Hsp70 Gene Family in Grape and Their Expression Profile during Abiotic Stress

by Xinna Liu, Haiyang Chen, Shenchang Li and Lijun Wang

Horticulturae 2022, 8(8), 743; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8080743 - 18 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1987

Abstract

Plants encounter a variety of abiotic stresses such as global climate change. Hsp70, as one of the main families of heat shock proteins (Hsps), has a great role in maintenance of the development and growth, and response to abiotic stress. Grape is a very popular fruit worldwide with a high economic value. However, the Hsp70 gene family has not been thoroughly identified in grape (Vitis vinifera L.). In this study, a total of 33 VvHsp70 genes were identified and divided into four clades in V. vinifera. Phylogenetic analysis, gene structure, conserved motif, and duplication events were performed for VvHsp70 genes. The detailed information showed that the VvHsp70 genes clustered together based on the phylogenetic tree had similar subcellular localization, gene structures, and conserved motifs, although there are exceptions. The expression patterns of VvHsp70, VdHsp70, or VaHsp70 were explored in development and abiotic stress including heat, osmotic, and cold stresses by transcription data or qRT-PCR. The results showed that grape Hsp70 genes had strong response for these abiotic stresses, particularly in heat and cold treatments in a different expression pattern. Most of the VdHsp70 genes were upregulated in response to heat treatments while VaHsp70 genes were downregulated in response to cold treatments. Together, our results revealed a new insight for the Hsp70 gene family in grape and will afford fundamental knowledge for further functional analysis and breeding of stress-tolerant grapevines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

BrDHC1, a Novel Putative DEAD-Box Helicase Gene, Confers Drought Tolerance in Transgenic Brassica rapa

by Gangqiang Cao, Huihui Gu, Wenjing Jiang, Zhaoran Tian, Gongyao Shi, Weiwei Chen, Baoming Tian, Xiaochun Wei, Luyue Zhang, Fang Wei and Zhengqing Xie

Horticulturae 2022, 8(8), 707; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8080707 - 05 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1377

Abstract

Drought can seriously hinder the growth of plants, resulting in reduced crop yield and quality. At present, the tolerance of DEAD-box helicases (DHC) to abiotic stresses, such as drought, high salinity, low temperature, and high temperature, has been confirmed in a variety of plants; therefore, using DEAD-box helicases to develop stress-resistant plants has great application prospects. In this study, Brassica rapa was used as a model to explore the response of the BrDHC1 gene to drought stress by creating RNA interference and overexpressing lines in B. rapa. The mechanism of BrDHC1 involved in drought resistance was revealed by the analysis of morphological characteristics, physiological indicators, and expression analysis of related stress response genes. The results showed that the overexpression of the BrDHC1 gene was more conducive to enhancing the resilience of plants under drought stress in B. rapa. Taken together, these results confirmed BrDHC1 as a newly identified DEAD-box helicase gene that could actively regulate plant growth and development under drought stress in B. rapa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2717 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Growth, Gas Exchange, and Boron Distribution Characteristics in Two Grape Species Plants under Boron Deficiency Condition

by Rong Wei, Mei Huang, Dong Huang, Jinzhong Zhou, Xuejun Pan and Wen’e Zhang

Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050374 - 25 Apr 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2082

Abstract

The boron (B) deficiency tolerance capacity of two grape materials, ‘Xishui-4’ (Vitis flexuosa) and ‘Crystal’ (V. vinifera × V. labrusca), were evaluated using a potted experiment in order to identify the B-use efficiency of grape and screen B-efficient grape resources. The sterile lines of two genotypes of grape were used as test materials, and a large number of test-tube seedlings were obtained through rapid propagation. The test-tube seedlings were acclimatization and transplanted, and the tested seedlings were treated with B stress after survival. In this experiment, the materials were cultured in nutrient solution, which contained 0.00 (B0), 0.25 (B1), and 0.50 (control) mg·L⁻¹ B concentrations, and the two genotypes of grape seedlings were cultured in vitro. The results were counted after 60 days of culture. The results showed that the B deficiency significantly reduced the growth parameters such as plant height, leaf area, total root length, and dry biomass of the two genotypes, and the inhibition of ‘Crystal’ growth parameters was greater than that of ‘Xishui-4’. Moreover, the B deficiency also affected photosynthesis of the two genotypes, such as decreased leaf photosynthetic pigments, net photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular carbon dioxide concentration, and stomatal density. Interestingly, the decrease ranges of ‘Crystal’ were greater than those of ‘Xishui-4’, indicating that ‘Crystal’ photosynthesis was more susceptible to B deficiency. Under the control condition, the concentration and accumulation of B in ‘Crystal’ were significantly higher than those in ‘Xishui-4’. However, under the condition of B deficiency, the B concentration, accumulation amount, accumulation rate, utilization index, and tolerance index of ‘Xishui-4’ were higher than those of ‘Crystal’, and the B transport capacity of ‘Xishui-4’ was more stable, indicating that ‘Xishui-4’ had a better tolerance against B-deficient stress than ‘Crystal’ did. Therefore, ‘Xishui-4’ is a plant with strong adaptability to B deficiency stress, which can be used as B efficient grape resources and a genetic improvement of B efficient grape. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2388 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Genetic Analysis of the Grapevine GATA Gene Family and Their Expression Profiles in Response to Hormone and Downy Mildew Infection

by Tingting Chen, Jing Peng, Meijie Li, Mengru Dou, Yan Lei, Yuejing Wang and Yan Xu

Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040303 - 03 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1942

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis. vinifera L.) is one of the most economically important fruit crops throughout the world. However, grape production is increasingly impacted by numerous diseases, including downy mildew, caused by the oomycete Plasmopara viticola. In grapevine and other plants, members of the GATA family of transcription factors play key roles in light and phytohormone signaling. However, little is known about their potential roles in biotic defense responses. As a first step, we identified 27 GATA transcription factors in grapevine and defined their transcriptional responses to three biotic stress-related phytohormones (SA, MeJA, and BR) in callus cells, and challenge with P. viticola in a downy mildew-sensitive cultivar, V. vinifera ‘Pinot noir’, and a resistant cultivar, V. piasezkii ‘Liuba-8′. Many of the VvGATA genes had higher expression at 0.5 h after hormones treatments. Moreover, a group of VvGATAs was dramatically induced in ‘Liuba-8′ at 24 post infection by P. viticola. However, the same genes were significantly repressed and showed low expression levels in ‘Pinot noir’. Additionally, VvGATA27 was located in the nucleus and had transcriptional activity. Taken together, the study identified the GATA full gene families in grapes on phylogenetic analysis and protein structure. Moreover, this study provided a basis for discussing the roles of VvGATAs in response to hormones and P. viticola infection. Our results provided evidence for the selection of candidate genes against downy mildew and lay the foundation for further investigation of VvGATA transcription factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 30152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Occurrence of Grapevine Leafroll-Associated Virus-3 (GLRaV-3), Complete Nucleotide Sequence and Cultivar Susceptibility to a GLRaV-3 Isolate from Shaanxi Province of China

by Xinyi Hao, Bolei Jiao, Yunlei Wang, Boxing Shang and Yan Xu

Horticulturae 2022, 8(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8010073 - 14 Jan 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2257

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is globally one of the most economically important fruit crops. China is the largest grapevine-growing country of the world and Shaanxi province is one of the major grapevine-growing provinces in the country. A survey of GLRaV-3 found it widespread, with 57–100% infection frequencies, in both wine and table grapevine cultivars of three grapevine-growing regions of Shaanxi province. The virus infection frequencies varied with cultivars and regions. In order to obtain the full genomic length of a new GLRaV-3 isolate, GLRaV-3-Sau (accession number MK988555), was sequenced. This isolate has a genome of 18026 nucleotides, and 14 open reading frames (ORFs). The full-genome of the isolate GLRaV-3-Sau shared 85.88% nucleotide identity to GLRaV-3-LN, another isolate found in China. Coat protein (CP) genes of GLRaV-3 isolates were identical (99%) to the Vitis vinifera isolate (accession number HQ185608.1) from the USA. Immunohistochemistry for virus localization found that distribution patterns were similar in red-berried cultivar ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and white-berried cultivar ‘Chardonnay’, and GLRaV-3 is restricted in phloem tissue of vascular bundles. Virus transmission by micrografting found virus transmission efficiency was higher in ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Thompson Seedless’ than in ‘Hunan-1’, indicating that ‘Hunan-1’ was less sensitive to GLRaV-3. As far as we know, these are the most comprehensive comparisons on the genome and CP genes of GLRaV-3 worldwide and the first to have found that the grapevine ‘Hunan-1’ is less susceptible to GLRaV-3. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2209 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Differential Triggering of the Phenylpropanoid Biosynthetic Pathway Key Genes Transcription upon Cold Stress and Viral Infection in Tomato Leaves

by Polyxeni Pappi, Nikolaos Nikoloudakis, Dimitrios Fanourakis, Antonios Zambounis, Costas Delis and Georgios Tsaniklidis

Horticulturae 2021, 7(11), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7110448 - 02 Nov 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2425

Abstract

Plants develop a plethora of defense strategies during their acclimation and interactions with various environmental stresses. Secondary metabolites play a pivotal role in the processes during stress acclimation, therefore deciphering their relevant responses exchange the interpretation of the underlying molecular mechanisms that may contribute to improved adaptability and efficacy. In the current study, tomato plants were exposed to short-term cold stress (5 °C for 16 h) or inoculated (20 d) with either Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) or Potato Virus Y (PVY). Responses were recorded via the assessments of leaf total phenolic (TP) content, total flavonoid (TF) levels, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) enzyme activity. The transcription of the gene families regulating the core phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway (PBP) at an early (PAL, cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase) or late (chalcone synthase and flavonol synthase) stage was also evaluated. The results showed that cold stress stimulated an increase in TP and TF contents, while PAL enzyme activity was also elevated compared to viral infection. Besides genes transcription of the enzymes involved in the core PBP was mostly induced by cold stress, whereas transcription of the genes regulating flavonoid biosynthesis was mainly triggered by viral infection. In conclusion, abiotic and biotic stressors induced differential regulation of the core PBP and flavonoid biosynthetic metabolism. Taking the above into consideration, our results highlight the complexity of tomato responses to diverse stimuli allowing for better elucidation of stress tolerance mechanisms at this crop. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Stress Biology of Horticultural Plants

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (7 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI